This invention pertains to an absorbent article, and more particularly to an absorbent article for use as a child's training pant, adult incontinence garment, baby diaper and the like.
Currently, disposable absorbent articles find widespread use for infant care and adult incontinence care, and have generally replaced the use of reusable cloth absorbent articles, such as cloth diapers. The typical disposable absorbent article is a three-layered composite structure comprising a liquid-permeable bodyside liner, a liquid-impermeable outer cover and an absorbent batt disposed between the bodyside liner and the outer cover. Materials now in general use for the three principal elements of a disposable absorbent article include various types of nonwoven fabrics for the bodyside liner, a thin thermoplastic film for the outer cover and cellulosic fluff for the absorbent batt.
As one type of a disposable absorbent article, diapers presently on the market are flat open-sided garments that are intended to be fitted about an infant while lying down. A diaper is meant for use when the child is young and dependent upon a parent for fitting the diaper on the child.
The popularity of disposable diapers has led us to believe there is a demand for a disposable training pant that can be used when a child grows out of a diaper. Diapers are typically used with infants up to about 15 months old. When a child reaches an age in the range of about 15 to 30 months, a parent generally desires to start toilet training so the child can become independent of the parent. The training pant is intended for use when the child has reached an age at which he or she is ready to graduate to an underpant type of garment as a replacement for disposable diapers previously used. Thus, a suitable training pant must be a garment having closed sides so that a child can raise and lower the garment as necessary without requiring the aid of a parent. At the same time, a training pant must provide features of liquid and solid absorbency and prevent leakage of the waste fluids.
Cloth training pants, although widely used, have disadvantages. Current cloth training pants have very little absorbency and often must be used with exterior rubber or plastic pants. When a child wets a cloth training pant, most often all of the child's clothes must be changed. Further, if a child has a bowel movement, it is difficult to remove a cloth pant without making a mess, and the pant must be soaked and bleached. All of these factors can make the toilet training process frustrating for both child and parent.
Moreover, it is believed that the psychology of the toilet training stage is such that the child should perceive he or she is graduating to a garment that is different than a disposable diaper.
As another type of a disposable absorbent article, some of the currently-used incontinence products for adults and older children have been found unsatisfactory due to their bulkiness and ineffectiveness. Many of these garments are formed by folding flat sheets into a diaper-like structure that is bulky, particularly in the crotch portion. This type of garment further has a tendency to become dislodged during activity. Clearly, for the active person, these diaper-type garments are not desirable since they are bulky and interfere with the movements of the individual and the wearing of ordinary clothes. Furthermore, the large amounts of material utilized requires these adult diaper-type garments to be relatively expensive.